Distance
by XantheXV
Summary: "There are four questions of value in life... What is sacred? Of what is the spirit made? What is worth living for, and what is worth dying for? The answer to each is the same. Only love." -Johnny Depp Dillinger/OC. Rated T for language and mild violence. Rating may change in the future.


Author's Note: Here I am with yet another story. I was inspired to do this one while reading my dear friend linalove's PE fic, _Summer Heatwaves in Your Eyes_. If you haven't read it yet, you totally should. It's awesome!

This is a Dillinger/OC fic, so if this displeases you, you may leave. You are not being forced to read this.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Public Enemies. It is owned by its respected creators.

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**Prologue: Thunderstruck**

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I looked all around me. In the darkness, I could make out the unmistakable figures of Tommy's gang. They were making their way out of the darkest corners of the alleyway...and were headed towards me.

I could feel the fear gripping me as I watched them appear as if the ground beneath them had opened up and released them to do their dark deeds.

At the head of this vicious pack of hungry wolves, Tommy began making his advances. I began backing away from him and towards the opposite wall. I looked for some way to escape, but Tommy's boys were everywhere.

I was trapped.

I heard Tommy chuckle, a chuckle that sent shivers down my spine. It wasn't the same mirthful chuckle that I had grown up with and had come to love. No...this was something much more sinister.

"Looks like the little mouse is trying to escape," he said loud enough for everyone to hear. "Sorry, but we've got every possible exit covered. Nowhere for you to run or hide."

Tommy was even closer to me than before. Against my better judgment, I tried to make a break for it. It was useless, as Tommy was stronger than I, and he quickly grabbed a hold of me and slammed me against the wall. My head hit the bricks first, causing my vision to blacken slightly.

"You always were the stupid one."

I looked up at him. I was heartbroken. Why did she have to send him to do this?

"Tommy, please," I begged. "Don't do this."

"You know as well as I do that what Mama says, goes," was Tommy's reply. "We all knew that she shouldn't have taken you in. She should have just left you on the street where she found you. She tried to raise you to be like us, but you never did quite fit in."

It was true. I never felt that I had truly belonged with their family. But that didn't stop me from treating them like family.

"Tommy, please. You're my brother. Don't do this."

He scoffed. "Well, I guess you don't have to worry about that anymore, do you? We're following Mama's orders. Surely you understand that?"

I did understand. It seems that impressing Mama outweighed doing the right thing. The mere thought of what they were going to do to me brought tears to my eyes.

What had happened to Tommy? He was never like this. He never really care what Mama had said...he was on my side every argument. What happened?

The gleam of the knife blade broke me from my thoughts. Tommy held up close to my throat, too close for comfort. If I tried to swallow, it would surely cut me.

I became delirious. I tried to scream for help, but Tommy covered my mouth with his hand.

"Ah ah ah," he reprimanded. "You know better than to scream. That'll just make it worse for you and whoever hears you."

I did. You never interfered with the Mob, not unless you wanted to get messed up as well.

I saw the lightning flash before I heard the sound of thunder. Within seconds, it began to rain cats and dogs onto the Chicago streets. The lightning flashed again, brighter than it did earlier and bright enough that it seemed really close.

_If Tommy doesn't kill me, then the lightning will_, I thought.

I saw Tommy bring the knife back, readying himself to strike. I closed my eyes, preparing for the pain it would inflict. But nothing could compare to the betrayal I was feeling at the moment. Seconds passed, but the knife did not come in contact with my skin. Instead, there was the sound of a gunshot, and I felt Tommy's hand leave my mouth.

I stood stock still. I watched as Tommy's now lifeless body dropped to the ground, the knife falling out of his hand in the process. I could hear the sounds of the others falling to the ground or being thrown into the walls or garbage cans. I couldn't think, I couldn't move, I couldn't even look up to see who my saviors were. The only thing I could think about was that my brother, who I had shared everything with, was now lying on the ground, bleeding out from the gunshot wound in his chest.

I could barely feel it when a hand began shaking my shoulder. I thought I heard someone trying to get my attention, but at that moment, I didn't care about being polite. The shock of Tommy's betrayal was too much to take.

I then felt two hands wrap a jacket of some sort around my shoulders in an attempt to keep me warm. It was then that I decided to actually listen to the world around me, to the person that had undoubtedly saved my life.

"Are you alright, doll?"

I took the moment to look away from the body and looked at the person who spoke to me.

I could feel my eyes widen to the point that they felt as though they were about to pop out of my skull. Standing in front of me was a man I knew all too well, one that I had taken countless hours to research for a school project. I could tell you anything from the time he was born to how many banks he had robbed in his lifetime. And just like his pictures, he had rather handsome features. Standing in front of me was none other than Chicago's Public Enemy No. 1.

John Dillinger.


End file.
